Wound healing and chemotactic properties of peptides obtained by collagenase-digestion of collagen have been known since the late 1970s. See, Postlethwaite et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 75:871-875 (1978).
Under normal circumstances, the process of acute wound healing can be broken down into three (3) phases. An initial inflammatory phase, which is followed by robust tissue remodeling and proliferation (the proliferative phase), is succeeded by a ‘maturational phase’ wherein re-epithelialization, dermal angiogenesis and wound closure ensues. Re-epithelialization involves the migration and proliferation of epithelial tissue, primarily keratinocytes. Angiogenesis is the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing conduits, and is regulated by a panoply of soluble cytokines including growth factor polypeptides, as well as cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. Chronic wounds exhibit a different healing profile from normal acute wounds in that they generally remain in an inflamed state for protracted periods of time. Non-healing wounds can most commonly be observed amongst people with diabetes, venous stasis disease, and in those patients who are immobilized. In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide new biomolecules that safely and efficiently potentiate epithelial and vascular wound healing mechanisms in both acute and chronic wound healing situations.